Mike Hart Appreciation Thread
This is the best I have seen our running backs in years. Not just the line blocking, but the RBs ability to see holes, make cuts, vision…. Our RBs have been functionally ok for years, but just ok. Something feels different this game that has been missing since… well… Hart was running the ball. Good hire.
September 4th, 2021 at 2:46 PM ^
Michigan's next head coach.
September 4th, 2021 at 2:59 PM ^
We would kick MSU's ass every year and finally be at least competitive with OSU
September 4th, 2021 at 3:41 PM ^
Didn't we say that about Harbaugh?
September 4th, 2021 at 5:35 PM ^
Yes and he is Michigan's next head coach.
September 4th, 2021 at 6:34 PM ^
Agree...
September 4th, 2021 at 10:23 PM ^
This.
September 4th, 2021 at 2:48 PM ^
I’ll give Hart some of the credit for sure, but I would say most of it is simply that Haskins and Corum are both very very good football players. We are blessed to have them
September 4th, 2021 at 2:53 PM ^
Geez Blake - you run for >100 and get 2TDs, yet you still make time to pump up your self and your team on your favorite blog. Kudos my man!
September 4th, 2021 at 3:02 PM ^
Yes, they are good. But, I have lost count of the number of times I yelled at the screen about open holes, missed cut, etc. Sooo many opportunities that were missed routinely in previous seasons that our guys made all game today. I can probably count on one hand “missed cuts/reads” by our RB
September 4th, 2021 at 4:01 PM ^
Well let's give Matt Weiss some credit for McNamara and for McCarthy's throw across field, and Gattis for the reverses, and Bellamy for the safety play, etc....
September 4th, 2021 at 5:38 PM ^
Sorry but Wiess had nothing to do with the McCarthy throw. That was 100% arm talent.
September 4th, 2021 at 8:26 PM ^
Sarcasm is dead.
September 4th, 2021 at 11:18 PM ^
It died in a double suicide with Irony
September 4th, 2021 at 6:10 PM ^
There was that one that I think Corum had where he was going to go outside and it was closed off so he just stayed behind his blocker for what seemed like forever and waited and then a hole opened to the middle and he took off. We did not see that last few seasons. The patience and then the vision to see the opening on that play was unbelievable. If that's an indication of how it's going to go, my bet on the under 9 wins is going to look bad at the end of the year
September 4th, 2021 at 5:11 PM ^
Watching the game I don’t see how Haskins starts over Corum.
Haskins looks to be good / above average B10 RB. Corum looks to be something special. Close to elite speed, agility and explosion. Haskins didn’t play bad at all, he just didn’t look to be in the same category of ability as Corum.
September 4th, 2021 at 5:45 PM ^
Right tool for the right job, maybe. I agree that Corum looks more talented in many areas, but Haskins can run through garbage and there will be a need for that a few times this year.
September 4th, 2021 at 5:51 PM ^
Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside. Should be used situationally. There'll be plenty of carries for each of them, with a few left over for Donovan.
September 4th, 2021 at 6:07 PM ^
That is exactly what we don’t need….”Mr Inside and Outside”. That has been our problem. Why put a RB in the backfield where the defense knows it doesn’t need to worry about half the field (either inside or outside). The defense just keys off.
September 4th, 2021 at 7:31 PM ^
Blitz pickups? Blocking assignments?
September 4th, 2021 at 5:27 PM ^
It helps that the backfield isn’t as crowded this year. Using 4+ running backs never gives any of them an opportunity to get the “hot hand”.
September 4th, 2021 at 7:58 PM ^
No, that looked like Mike Hart out there running, his fingerprints are all over the RB play today.
September 5th, 2021 at 11:19 AM ^
Zach Charbonnet is obviously a good football player too. Maybe better than anyone in our stable. But somehow he’s playing for UCLA now. Let’s hope Mike Hart signals the end of Michigan shitting the bed when top end running backs choose to play for us. The list of 4-5* busts is too long to contemplate.
September 4th, 2021 at 2:52 PM ^
All of the off-season hype about the energy of this team appears to be something real. And Mike plays a big role in that!
September 4th, 2021 at 3:29 PM ^
The energy when Baldwin came to the sidelines after that TD catch looked & felt different from the last couple of years
September 5th, 2021 at 8:20 PM ^
It seemed like the glory and energy of the 1990s.
September 4th, 2021 at 3:04 PM ^
Our running backs look great today.
September 4th, 2021 at 3:05 PM ^
Except when we run up the middle 18 plays in a row.
September 4th, 2021 at 3:15 PM ^
Hart doesn't call the plays. He just chooses personnel and gets them ready to play.
September 4th, 2021 at 3:17 PM ^
That…. Is on Gattis. Different story
i was pleased with how many times ours RB created their own plays dispute Eh play calling
September 4th, 2021 at 4:24 PM ^
We had two jet sweeps that were very, very successful and they wouldn’t have been unless we pine the middle of the line like we did
September 4th, 2021 at 7:50 PM ^
Exactly, leaving a TD behind by choosing to dive bomb into the middle of a 9 man front at the end of the first half was a ploy. Haha got you good suckers!
September 4th, 2021 at 6:04 PM ^
That never happened and you know it.
September 4th, 2021 at 3:17 PM ^
Looks to me like our RB's are all very, very good.
Great combination of speed/shiftiness and power/rage. Haskins gets so many extra yards with his balance and toughness - love watching him.
There were a few canyons out there, but in general the RB's were working with sliver-sized holes, especially inside.
Good job - hope we see it all year!
September 4th, 2021 at 5:53 PM ^
Loved Donovan's extra effort and desire on his few opportunities. He'll be very valuable later in the year when legs get tired.
September 4th, 2021 at 4:17 PM ^
I'll give Sherrone Moore credit in this game, since that Oline looked like a foundation.
But, you are right the RBs had patience and found the space.
September 4th, 2021 at 4:26 PM ^
Michigan's RBs looked great today and Indiana is looking terrible on offense through the first quarter (30 yards rushing on 10 carries). Yeah, I'm thinking there might be a reason for all this.
September 4th, 2021 at 4:30 PM ^
Let's just choose to ignore that Michigan returned 2 highly touted RBs while Indiana lost their workhorse back from the last 3 seasons.
September 5th, 2021 at 10:39 AM ^
Zach charbonnet looks amazing without JayBaugh as his position coach
September 4th, 2021 at 4:55 PM ^
They looked good today, but remember, this was against Western.
I’m glad Hart is back too, and the results so far are encouraging. But the RBs still have a lot to prove against better competition.
September 4th, 2021 at 7:45 PM ^
Let us all just cheer for something positive. We understand that the competition today was a punching bag and we were encouraged by how well we landed punches. We remember this was against Western and we can still feel positive. The two feelings/emotions/understandings aren’t mutually exclusive.
We collectively contain multitudes. We’re allowed to be excited.
Go Blue always.
September 4th, 2021 at 10:26 PM ^
This was still very good against a MAC team. Many Lloyd Carr teams beat MAC opponents to by scores like 35-14. Today we hung 47 on them and easily could have gotten to 60+ if we hadn't gone to the bench so deep.
It was a very decisive win against a MAC opponent.
September 4th, 2021 at 5:19 PM ^
Mike Hart was a great player. We'll always appreciate what he did on the field for Michigan.
As far as his tenure as RB coach goes..early days yet. This sort of praise is worthless because some of the same people would turn on him in a heartbeat if our running game is shut down in one of the difficult games down the line.
September 4th, 2021 at 5:34 PM ^
Word. Welcome back, Mike Hart.
September 4th, 2021 at 6:32 PM ^
Love how the backs played today. Really enjoyed the game overall.
But this screams "Prisoner Of The Moment" LOL.
I do love the optimism, though. Definitely agree it looks like a great hire.
September 4th, 2021 at 7:05 PM ^
Corum is really exciting. The speed was always obvious but man…he also looks strong. 200 lbs at 5’8”, that is quite a bit of muscle
September 4th, 2021 at 7:54 PM ^
Cant help but think maybe he should play WR when not at RB. Keep that kid on the field.
September 4th, 2021 at 7:56 PM ^
Methinks Indiana might have wished they still had Mike Hart today.
September 4th, 2021 at 11:20 PM ^
It’s an exciting day
thats why you play Western Michigan in the first game
September 5th, 2021 at 10:38 AM ^
Removing JayBaugh from any critical coaching position was the right move. Keep him solely as a recruiter